Official review no help for Bulldogs

Posted: Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The good news for Georgia is that SEC referee Tom Lopes will not be officiating Bulldogs' games in the near future.

The bad news?

Georgia's close and controversial defeat at No. 10 Alabama this past Saturday will remain as such, and the Bulldogs have to find a way to move forward mentally before they tip off with Kentucky at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

On Monday, Gerald Boudreaux, the SEC's coordinator of officials, participated in separate conference calls with Georgia coach Dennis Felton and Saturday's three-man officiating crew, which was headed by Lopes.

Boudreaux, who was at the game, said the review process is ongoing and likely will not be finalized before Wednesday. He said Lopes will not be part of the officiating crews for Georgia's game against Kentucky and its home game against LSU on Sunday.

"When we make mistakes, it is my job to review those and identify them and to reduce the number of mistakes that officials make in a game," Boudreaux said. "As long as the human element is involved in basketball officiating, unfortunately there are going to be some mistakes. We've got to keep them to a minimum."

That probably doesn't mean much to the Bulldogs after what transpired during the final minute of their loss to the Crimson Tide.

Tied 76-all with about 19 seconds left and the shot clock winding down, Georgia guard Sundiata Gaines heaved a turnaround jumper from the free-throw line just before the buzzer sounded.

The ball appeared to nick the rim before Georgia's Takais Brown briefly caught it and juggled it out of bounds.

But Lopes, thinking there had been a shot-clock infraction, inadvertently blew his whistle before the ball reached the rim, signaling a change of possession with 17.2 seconds left.

After reviewing the play via a court-side television monitor, Lopes determined he made a mistake by blowing the whistle. By rule and the possession arrow, however, the ball was awarded to Alabama. Moments later, Alabama point guard Ronald Steele connected on a 14-foot leaner at the final horn for the win.

Felton, still miffed Monday about Saturday's circumstances, said he sent about 23 various video clips of the game to Boudreaux, one of which was Steele's final shot. Replays clearly showed Steele took an extra step while trying to avoid Gaines and set up a clear shot.

Outside the locker room after the game, Gaines believed Steele had walked. He saw the replay on television Saturday night and his suspicion was confirmed.

"I thought he took a little extra step, but it wasn't called and that's how it goes sometimes," he said.

That was the attitude the Bulldogs were projecting prior to their first practice since the loss. The biggest question is how they will respond after letting an 11-point lead slip away during the final five minutes.

Steve Newman, who beat Arkansas with a buzzer-beater last week but committed a pair of costly turnovers to fuel Alabama's rally, said how the Bulldogs perform against the Wildcats will be a sign of how they handle what happened in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

"We need to move away from it as quickly as possible," Newman said. "Sometimes the calls don't go your way. But we really shouldn't have been in a position to lose with the lead we had, so the calls really shouldn't have affected the game.

"The game's over with. There's nothing we can do about it now, so we just have to try move on, work toward the next one."